ROBERTO BAGGIO

TEAMS PLAYED FOR
 
Brescia (Italy): 2000 – 2004
Inter Milan (Italy): 1998 – 2000
Bologna (Italy): 1997 – 1998
AC Milan (Italy): 1995 – 1997
Juventus (Italy): 1990 – 1995
Fiorentina (Italy): 1985 – 1990
Vicenza (Italy): 1982 - 1985

BIO

Roberto Baggio was born on February 8, 1967 in a small town of Caldogno, Italy.  He started playing soccer from the early age, and almost immediately people around him saw the beginning glimpses of a natural born striker.  When he was 9 years old his childhood team coach recognized his attacking skills and immediately started playing him up front.  In one of the games, Roberto scored 6 goals and was immediately noticed by the scouts of the local third division team, Vicenza.      

CLUB CAREER

Vicenza became Baggio’s first professional team with whom the boy signed a contract when he turned 14.  His first salary was around $170 per month.  The first two years, Roberto spent on the bench, however in 1984/1985 season his 12 goals helped the team secure the promotion to the second division, Serie B.  Baggio himself was sent directly to Fiorentina, one of the Serie A powerhouses.  Roberto spent 5 years ar Fiorentina and during his years there, he rose to cult status among the team's fans who still consider him to be one of their best ever players.  His most successful season at Fiorentina was his last season in 1990 when the team went as fat as the final of the UEFA Cup where they lost to another Italian team, Juventus. 
After seeing Baggio play in the final and throughout the season, Juventus management could not let the played to be snatched out by a different club.  After the UEFA Cup final, they made Fiorentina an offer that they could not refuse - $17 million.  Baggio’s transfer to Juve was accompanied by the mass riots in the streets of Florence.  Fiorentina’s fans could not forgive the team management for selling their talisman player. 
At Juventus Baggio continued performing at the highest level.  This is where he won his first scudetto and UEFA Cup.  After five years at Juve Baggio was sold to AC Milan where he won another Scudetto in his first year, hence becoming the first player to win the Scudetto in consecutive years with two different clubs.
During his time at AC Milan, the team suffered from player misbalance and coaching change.  As a result, after just two years, Baggio was transferred to Bologna, where according to himself, he had one of the best seasons in his life. Later on Baggio played for Inter Milan and Brescia where he finished his career in 2004.

NATIONAL TEAM CAREER

Roberto Baggio player in three World Cups – 1990, 1994, 1998 – and is the only Italian player to score in all three tournaments.  With total 9 goals in the World Cup, Baggio is the scoring leader along with Christian Vieri and Paolo Rossi.  

PERSONAL INFO

When Roberto was 16 years old, the doctors discovered that he was allergic to certain medications.  This allergy never allowed Baggio to heal completely from his injuries and he had to deal with the pain throughout his career.  According to him, the only things that kept him going was Buddhism and incredible love for the game.  The most important person in Baggio’s life is his wife Adreanna with whom he has been together since the age of 15. They have daughter Valentina and son Mattia.  Roberto is the 6^th of 8 brothers.  Nicknamed “The Divine Ponytail” because of his hair style.

       

TITLES AND AWARDS

Fiorentina

UEFA Cup (runner-up): 1990

Juventus

Serie A: 1995

Coppa Italia: 1995

UEFA Cup: 1993

AC Milan

Serie A: 1996

Bologna

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998

International

FIFA World Cup: runner-up 1994, 3^rd place 1990

FIFA World Player of the Year: 1993

UEFA Player of the Year: 1993

FIFA 100